PS3 Launch Titles Close In On Blu-Ray Limit

According to Sony Worldwide Studios head Phil Harrison, the Playstation 3 launch titles are already approaching the Blu-Ray limit of 25GB.

In an interview with a Gamesindustry.biz journalist Phil Harrison defends the necessity of Sony's high capacity discs by pointing out that the PS3 launch titles are testing the limits of the Blu-Ray technology. Without being too precise about how close PS3 launch titles are to the 25 GB limit, Harrison claims that next year when the limit is doubled, the games should quickly take advantage of the added capacity.

Responding to the question of whether the extra space is simply being used for extended non-interactive, high-definition movie sequences, Harrsion said, "It's about 7.1 audio, it's about speech, it's about having up to 1080p movies built into the game; it's high res textures, it's animation, it's everything that goes into making a very rich and varied next-gen experience." Harrison also points out that standard DVDs simply can not hold the required volume of data to take advantage of the Cell processor.

Sony has consistently defended its decision to implement Blu-Ray into the PS3 against criticism at the technology's proprietary nature and cost.